August 24, 2025 • 29 mins
Chronicles the cases of a law enforcement officer in the American West, blending traditional Western themes with modern investigative techniques. The stories are based on real cases.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
In a moment, we'll present the Texas Rangers. But first,
here's a reminder that you can read all about your
favorite NBC stars and find pictures of most of them
in the current NBC Silver Jubilee issue of Radio TV
Mirror magazine Fire at your news stand today.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
The National Broadcasting Company presents.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Joel McCrae in Tales of the Texas Rangers from Hollywood,
another authentic reenactment of a case transcribed from.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
The files of the Texas Rangers.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Tales of the Texas Rangers, starring Joel McCrae as Ranger
Chase Pearson, Texas more than two hundred and sixty.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Thousand square miles and fifty men who make up.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
The most famous and oldest law enforcement body in North America.
Now from the files of the Texas Rangers come.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
These stories based on fact only.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Names, dates, and places are fictitious for obvious reasons. They
events themselves are a matter of records.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Case Fortnite Helping Hand.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
It is three point fifteen PM an afternoon in November
nineteen fifty A del usual rain has swamped the deserted
roads of West Texas, and a lone motors sits disconsolately
in a small sedan near the side of the road.
His face brightened suddenly as a curtained jeep fulls to
a stop beside him. Painted on the jeep's motor hood
or the words Joe's.
Speaker 5 (01:55):
Garage hurry, hurry, having trouble.
Speaker 6 (01:59):
Yeah, wires must have got soap coming through that low
spot in the wash back there. She chugged and sputtered
aways and then conked down on me.
Speaker 7 (02:08):
And we can fix that for you.
Speaker 5 (02:10):
I got that kerosine, squirt ted Rusty. Okay, Joe, you
want the canvas too, yeah, raises hood, then tent the
canvas over so none of this rain beats in there. Yeah,
you just sit there and the lights. Mister, we'll have
a pricking in a minute.
Speaker 6 (02:23):
M sure, grateful to you. What are you gonna do?
Speaker 5 (02:25):
Squirt a little kerosene on ignition? Wise, better release your hood?
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Oh yeah, okay, Rusty, lift her up?
Speaker 8 (02:32):
Yeah, had it all right?
Speaker 6 (02:34):
Sure you feel you know what you're doing?
Speaker 8 (02:38):
What do you mean?
Speaker 6 (02:39):
I can't see how you can get them wires dry
by squirting them winter, that's.
Speaker 5 (02:42):
A mechanic's trick, squirting with kerosene. The kerosene gets under
the water, and the water runs off, and a minute
or two the kerosene runs off too. What's left evaporates.
Speaker 6 (02:51):
And I reckon, you know, I know, all right?
Speaker 7 (02:54):
What raised like this?
Speaker 5 (02:55):
I do more business along this road, and I do
back of the shop. Reckon. We've got a dozen stalks
cars going today. Okay, close her up, Okay to drying
out all the Wait a second.
Speaker 8 (03:10):
They got a couple of drops of water running.
Speaker 5 (03:11):
Down my neck. Only a mile up the road to
Walla's cafe. We'll stop for coffee after this fellow gets moving.
Speaker 6 (03:16):
M sure could use them myself. I've been sitting here
for more than an hour. Only other car had come through.
Barrel right, bed ware, you bound for it long redge
too bad? Is heaped? And hold out until I got there.
Coming back, I'll lend me a new car. D were
called this morning? Tell me was in.
Speaker 5 (03:33):
Well, this ain't gonna be ready to limp along now, Joe, Yeah,
you can try starting now.
Speaker 6 (03:38):
Oh fine. Uh he's hoping. That was real quick, and
I'll be hanged and tricky yours really worse.
Speaker 5 (03:48):
I ain't never missed. I shall buck a little at first,
but watch the puddles.
Speaker 6 (03:51):
You'll be okay, sure, wish I knew how to thank you, bunny?
Speaker 7 (03:55):
Why is that age hard?
Speaker 8 (03:56):
Mister?
Speaker 7 (03:57):
Charge is fifteen bucks?
Speaker 6 (04:00):
Fifteen dollars?
Speaker 8 (04:01):
Hand it up in this rain?
Speaker 5 (04:02):
Ain't funness? Say you were stuck, won't you?
Speaker 6 (04:05):
Yeah, it was stuck. Fifteen dollars seems like the kind
of steep price for three minutes working a little cares.
Speaker 5 (04:12):
Look, I got a nice, warm garage with a price
as of regular working out here is a little bit different.
Speaker 8 (04:18):
Charge is fifteen bucks.
Speaker 6 (04:20):
I don't think I got fifteen bucks.
Speaker 8 (04:22):
What are you a wise guy? I reckon if you
can find a new car. You ain't exactly flat brope.
Speaker 6 (04:26):
I didn't say it was. I got money, the smallest bill.
I got some hundred.
Speaker 8 (04:30):
Oh, don storm me. You can ride out here.
Speaker 5 (04:33):
If we didn't happen along, at least you can do
his pay up.
Speaker 6 (04:36):
I tell you I got nothing but large bills. Money
I got from a bank this morning to put down
on a new car. I want your money on meet
you at the coffee place you was talking about, and
get changed?
Speaker 7 (04:45):
Well, what wally get changed?
Speaker 8 (04:47):
One hundred?
Speaker 7 (04:47):
And that crumbit joint?
Speaker 8 (04:48):
Change? Ain't our problem, Joe.
Speaker 7 (04:50):
My problem is whether or not this guy's really got
a hundred bucks to begin with.
Speaker 8 (04:53):
Now, let's see it.
Speaker 6 (04:54):
You ain't seeing nothing, matter of fact, ain't so sure
you got a right to charge me? No, fifteen before
I pay it, I'm gonna stop at the Sheriff's off
was a long range.
Speaker 5 (05:04):
You think I'm standing in this rain for fun?
Speaker 8 (05:06):
I get out there. Call me hurry out on my throat.
Never mind the conversation.
Speaker 5 (05:12):
Joe, you got hands and he's got yeah. Stop it, hey, Rusty, Hey, Rusty,
Look yeah, five hundred bucks, Joe, I could do a
lot with though I can.
Speaker 8 (05:32):
What he say?
Speaker 6 (05:33):
Joe, why here?
Speaker 8 (05:33):
Reported not if you've got enough nerves?
Speaker 7 (05:36):
I got as much nerves.
Speaker 5 (05:36):
You got right down and grab his feet, move him
a narrow off the road.
Speaker 7 (05:41):
Hey, he's coming to not for long, all right?
Speaker 8 (05:44):
Put him down. Now get your heavy wrench.
Speaker 7 (05:49):
No, you're crazy.
Speaker 8 (05:50):
You back out on me.
Speaker 5 (05:51):
No, but I hung my chumping off to hug my
wrench on him.
Speaker 8 (05:55):
Be smart, Rusty, they were.
Speaker 5 (05:57):
Going to do this.
Speaker 7 (05:58):
Let's be smart and dude. Right, there's a big rock
over us.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
That the body of the slain man was found early
the following morning, when highway patrolmen examined the area around
the seemingly abandoned car. The sheriff was summoned from Longridge,
and he in turn requested the help of a Texas Ranger.
Speaker 7 (06:24):
Ranger Jace Pearson was assignment.
Speaker 5 (06:27):
You might have went from that rain yesterday. J Yeah, yeah,
here's the body. I wanted you to see it before
and moved it into town. He check his identification. Licensed
description fits names. Arthur McShane comes from Hooper Spring. Were
you looking at Jess and just noticing these footprints around
the body? Sheriff? I puddled up too much to help.
Rain washed the edges away. Carried in here by two
(06:49):
men or walked in with one man. No, he was carried,
he'd walk there'd be some mud on his shoes. His
feet never touched the ground after he left the pavement.
How long you think he's been dead. It looks like
it's been quite a few hours. Any sign of a
weapon around there must have been one with his head
like that big rock with a blood trays on the
bottom of it was laying over there, almost wished clean.
(07:10):
So I didn't want to leave it, and I had
a deputy wrap it and take it in for your lamp.
I won't help much might have held some blood, but
the Prince wouldn't take Let's get back the car right.
Anybody touched the car, No, that's just like a highway
patrol boys found it, driver's door, open, seat and steering
wheels soaked with rain. They got out to fix something. Well,
(07:32):
if he did, he must have got it fixed before
he was killed, because the car works all right now.
Speaker 8 (07:36):
I checked it.
Speaker 5 (07:38):
I want to take a look on the knees. You
see something, Jason, Yeah, all these spots on the pavement
didn't film on a couple of small puddles drip from
the oiler crank cage maybe, Oh it's too thin for that,
too light. It's more like a gasoline drif gas lean drip.
It be further back under the curbret A lapman can
check it. And one want to fly down and go
(07:59):
over the car. Anyhow, where's the nearest phone? Wallly's Cafe
about a mile up the road. Wallly's Cafe was a
dilapidated roadside stop. I called Austin for a lab crew
to fly down the long ridge, and the sheriff called
(08:20):
the medical examiner, who authorized to pick up for Arthur
mcshane's body. The sheriff hadn't had any breakfast. How about
some Hemmy and Wally?
Speaker 7 (08:28):
Hey, sentle for bacon for sure?
Speaker 5 (08:30):
How about you Gie's just some coffee?
Speaker 6 (08:32):
Right, lab man will want to bring that.
Speaker 5 (08:36):
Car into a garage, Sheriff. Where do you have your
car service?
Speaker 6 (08:39):
Jewel's garage?
Speaker 5 (08:40):
What little work we have?
Speaker 4 (08:41):
Hey?
Speaker 2 (08:41):
Yeah, you follas watched coffee?
Speaker 7 (08:43):
Now are you out your egg?
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Sheriff?
Speaker 6 (08:45):
We're gonna take it now. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (08:47):
I don't think they're gonna find much on the car,
though anything on the outside would have been washed away
by the rain. Yeah, this is gonna be a tough net.
Speaker 6 (08:54):
Well, here's you say. I here, you say something about
Joe's garage for you?
Speaker 5 (09:00):
Yeah, you gonna see him in town. I expect you
asked him to do.
Speaker 6 (09:04):
Me a favor, will you Next time he stopped firing
need new fan from a pickup, I'll tell him that's
why I ain't got no ham. I couldn't make a
trip in the time for supplies today, and I have
to buy you a bicycle, walleing.
Speaker 5 (09:17):
You better than that pick up, that's for sure. Why
don sho you make a flat deal with Joe Damn
by the week and have him. Make one stop here
every day, be cheaper than that, And I'm.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Surprised he didn't stop by yesterday.
Speaker 6 (09:29):
Charge deep go bow and buy late in the afternoon,
headed for town. Oh that darn Raine, You know, I
bet I didn't show three blue plates across his kinnter
all day?
Speaker 5 (09:39):
Yes?
Speaker 6 (09:40):
Did? He didn't take in more than four dollars. Well
that's more.
Speaker 5 (09:44):
Than you're a liable to take in the day if
you burn my age.
Speaker 6 (09:47):
Oh yeah, excuse me.
Speaker 5 (09:58):
A lab man checked in on the fleen from off
then went out after mcshane's car. I waited in the
Sheriff's office in town until the sheriff came in with
a report from the medical examiner. Here's your topsic report. Jez.
Cause of death cerebral hemorrhage due to a severe beating
about the head. But on the rock we found match
McShane anything on the time of death about three thirty
(10:19):
yesterday afternoon. Three right.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (10:23):
Mcshane's wife just got in town, went over to the
funeral home. You want to see him? Yeah, the another
hour or so before the labman gets to Joe's garage.
Taking that long to check those oil spots and a
few other things out of the road, funeral homes just
up the street.
Speaker 8 (10:38):
Let's go.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
He was so happy, not just.
Speaker 9 (10:53):
Who could do with him?
Speaker 8 (10:55):
Take it easy, man?
Speaker 5 (10:59):
How come you didn't drive up here with him? I
mean you said he was coming up to get a
new car. I should think he didn't want to do along.
Speaker 9 (11:05):
Well, I didn't know about the car when he left.
Speaker 10 (11:08):
See it was for anniversary next week. A surprise, I
didn't left.
Speaker 8 (11:14):
He left yesterday.
Speaker 5 (11:15):
How'd you find out then?
Speaker 9 (11:16):
From Abby Lawton? She's the banker's right back home in
Hooper Spring.
Speaker 10 (11:21):
When my husband took the money out of the bank yesterday,
he told Bill lot and why he was taking it. Well,
Bill must have called Abby to tell her, and Abby
called me. Abby's always doing things like that. Nobody ever
gets surprised when she knows about anything.
Speaker 5 (11:34):
And some people are like that. Ma'am. You know how
much money your husband was carrying?
Speaker 9 (11:40):
She said he drew up five hundred dollars.
Speaker 5 (11:42):
Alli a hundred dollar bill as your motive, chef, sure
is Jason robbery. A hundred dollar bill shouldn't be too
hard to traceh I'll depend on where and how soon
the killer tries to spend them. Better call a bank
at Hooper Springs and see if you can get a
list of serial numbers. Do it fronto. They have any numbers,
put them on a state wide bulletin. Right, your your
(12:05):
husband have anything besides money on him, ma'am, Any jewelry
or anything else that it might have been taken with.
Speaker 9 (12:11):
No, but he had a wrist watch, it's all.
Speaker 5 (12:14):
There wasn't any money was found. You know what make
it was?
Speaker 9 (12:18):
No, I just know he had one. That's only what.
All the time, I never gave it no suspicion, noting.
Speaker 5 (12:22):
How could you describe it?
Speaker 9 (12:24):
Well, I he was gold, leather, stry up. I don't
know men's watch.
Speaker 8 (12:31):
It all look the same to me.
Speaker 5 (12:32):
What would you know if you saw it again?
Speaker 9 (12:35):
Well, no, I don't think so.
Speaker 6 (12:37):
Oh, I don't know.
Speaker 5 (12:40):
You ought to have somebody with you, if you've got
a son or a daughter or someplace, we could contact
him for you.
Speaker 9 (12:46):
No, we didn't have no children. It was just just
him and me. You know, I'm all along.
Speaker 5 (13:00):
Jerriff got a list of currency numbers from the bank,
and we arranged for a bullet into all banks and
major stores in the state. We're leaving the telegraph office
when we sighted the labman coming down the main dragon
mcshane's car. We hailed him and he pulled over to
the curb. Haughty Jase, houghtie Sam had a cherfam right
into garage with you if it won't disturb anything.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
No, Hoppy been all over upholstering everything.
Speaker 7 (13:24):
Lots of prints on the dashboard, all the same.
Speaker 5 (13:27):
Probably dead man's No sign of anybody else being in
the car with.
Speaker 4 (13:30):
Him, none I could find, cause he might have had riders.
Speaker 5 (13:34):
Banker at Hooper Spring said McShane was alone when he
left the bank, saw him through the window when he
got in his car, and he wasn't alone when he
got killed. That's a cinch. How about those oily spots
on the road, Sam.
Speaker 4 (13:45):
And the ones under the car there kerosene spots Chase
Karsane was used to cut the grace on the ignition wires,
easy to tell even with a field kit.
Speaker 5 (13:53):
That means the ignition wires must have gotten wet. Car
conked out on him and he sprayed him.
Speaker 4 (13:58):
That's what happened, right, But he didn't the sprain himself.
Why no sign of caro Seene in.
Speaker 8 (14:03):
The car anyplace? No can nothing.
Speaker 5 (14:05):
You checked the trunk empty.
Speaker 7 (14:07):
No chaff?
Speaker 8 (14:07):
Way is that grush?
Speaker 5 (14:09):
Joe? Three more blocks, then turn left right.
Speaker 4 (14:12):
I'll make one more check of the interior for blood trays.
But I took a preliminary and it was black. I'm
afraid I'm not gonna find anything. Say, you really don't
have to come along unless you want to. I can
drop you the Sheriff's office.
Speaker 5 (14:24):
No, we'll ride. I want to see that garage man anyhow. Yeah, sure, why,
but Wally won't get his fan belt. I'm want to
see him about more than Walley's fan built. Right, Walley's
had the jeep from Joe's garage past his place yesterday
afternoon on the way to town. Hey, that's right. He
must have passed the spot machine was killed at no
place between there and wall is that he could have
(14:45):
been coming from. And somebody stopped to help McShane get
his car started. Let's find out who.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
In just a moment, we will continue with Tales of
the Texas Rangers, starring Joel McCrae as Ranger Jase Pearson.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Now that fall is here and darkness comes upon us
during the early afternoon hours, you as a driver must
be ever alert for children in the streets and highways.
Slow down at sundown. Follow the careful and courteous driving
rules as set forth by the American Trucking Association. Remember
that a rolling ball is always followed by a child.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
Keep alert.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Drive as if a child's life depended upon your ability
to see him before he sees you, and it does.
Remember the life you save may be a child's.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
We continue now with tales of the Texas Rangers and
tonight's case helping hand an authentic story from the files
of the Texas Rangers.
Speaker 5 (15:58):
There were two men in the garage as we drove in.
One of them was wearing a mechanics cover all. The
other was seated in a chair tilted back against the wall,
trying to toss greasy playing cards into a hat placed
ten feet away from him. The mechanic gave the car
a strange look. I'm sure there's something I can do
for you, Yeah, Joe fellow in the rain, Jill they
have wants a little space to go over this car?
Speaker 7 (16:20):
Well, sure, pull it right over to that corner.
Speaker 8 (16:23):
Oh, I thanks.
Speaker 5 (16:25):
You ever see that car before, Joe?
Speaker 7 (16:28):
I care, sir, ranger working a lot of.
Speaker 5 (16:31):
Cars yesterday afternoon during the rain. This car was about
a mile past Wally's place out on State twenty seven.
It was stalled with wet ignition wires. Somebody fixed them
with a kerosene spray. Your jeep was seen out that way.
Speaker 7 (16:45):
Uh yeah, yeah, I guess maybe it is a car
I fixed.
Speaker 8 (16:49):
I guess you're gonna be busy, Joe.
Speaker 6 (16:51):
I'll call you later.
Speaker 7 (16:52):
Oh sure, sure, Rusty, go ahead, just a second.
Speaker 5 (16:56):
How about this car, Joe?
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Well, like I said, maybe I did work. It got
a few cars started on the highway yesterday.
Speaker 5 (17:03):
You keep saying maybe how about making it yes or no?
A mile east of Wallis Well, yeah, yeah, I saw
a car there. Yeah, just like that one, ignition wise soaked?
You get him started?
Speaker 8 (17:15):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (17:16):
Driver all right? When you left him?
Speaker 8 (17:18):
Yeah sure, they was all okay.
Speaker 5 (17:20):
Why what do you mean by all? Wasn't the driver alone? No?
Speaker 7 (17:23):
No, no, he had a couple of guys with him, hitchhikers.
Speaker 5 (17:26):
How do you know they were hitchhikers? What driver said?
So guys were in the army uniform. They were sort
of broaded off about being stuck. How to get back
to base or something? Army guys? Eh?
Speaker 8 (17:36):
Yeah? Why or something happened to that driver.
Speaker 5 (17:38):
Yeah, something unpleasant. I better put out a pickup for
a couple of soldiers. Ain't cheff wrecking your better.
Speaker 7 (17:44):
Jays, you would still want me to wait, ranger.
Speaker 5 (17:47):
Oh, I almost forgot about you. No, I just thought
maybe you were with Joe yesterday when he fixed that car.
Speaker 8 (17:53):
No, no, I wasn't. I don't work here. No, no,
he just stopped buying.
Speaker 5 (17:56):
Oh I see, well, thanks, you're welcome. So oh uh.
By the way, yeah, what time you got.
Speaker 8 (18:07):
Just timmis have to walk.
Speaker 5 (18:09):
Thanks. He got a good looking watch there, keep pretty
good time.
Speaker 8 (18:14):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, it's right on the dot.
Speaker 5 (18:16):
Must have had it for a long time. Huh yeah,
I can see that you ought to have the strap
change though it's getting too small for you.
Speaker 8 (18:25):
Huh.
Speaker 5 (18:26):
Mark on the leather band shows where you used to
hook it through the fourth hole. You're wearing it hooked
through the second hole now so long? Oh yeah, yeah,
I'll be seeing you. See you later, Joe, Yeah, Rusty later.
(18:48):
I'd noticed the watch strap right away. That's why I
kept talking to Joe after I stopped Rusty from leaving.
The waiting made him nervous, and he tried to keep
the watch hidden. Joe gave us a fumbling description of
two soldiers, which I pretended to phone to Austin. While
I was phoning, I managed to signal the sheriff to
pick up the greasy cards Rusty'd been tossing into the hat.
We left the garage and took the lab man with us.
Speaker 7 (19:10):
Thanks, Joe, see you later. Sure, Thank bye.
Speaker 5 (19:13):
Rangel's along, Joe, we'll see you again.
Speaker 7 (19:18):
Say Jase, what'd you pull me out for?
Speaker 5 (19:19):
I wasn't finding I know, I got something else for
you to check on. Oh what some playing cards the
sheriff has? Yeah, yeah, I caught your signal, Jase. But
what'd you want these for? Step around the side of
the building here. Those cards are pretty greasy, Sam, I
think you can pull prints off of.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
Them grease film on a glaze service sedge.
Speaker 5 (19:42):
But what I've seen one of those garage boys before, Joel.
Now the other one, Rusty. Something in my mind tells
me I saw him in the pen at Huntsville. I
want to check on his prints. All had to get
right on it. Joe's princes probably be on those cards too.
Get a report on anything you find, But first that
car out of take it over to the Sheriff's parking shed.
If you can lift any prints in the nah, you
(20:03):
can get him on the afternoon. Playing to Austin, what
was that business about asking Rusty the time?
Speaker 8 (20:09):
Jash?
Speaker 5 (20:09):
It wasn't his watch, that's all. Man who owned that
watch always wore two notches tighter. Comparing their sizes, I
figured that Arthur mcshane's wrist would be just about two
notches thinner than Rusties. The labman lifted plenty of prints
from the playing cards, with two sets repeated most frequently.
(20:31):
We sent the bats through to Austin for a check.
The answer came back late that night. Mug shots and
records on two men. Looks like you hit the jack quad, Jash. Yeah,
Joe and Rusty both got records, both served time in Huntsville,
same cell block, and we pick them up we can.
It won't be any use. We haven't even got enough
on him to get him and dieted.
Speaker 8 (20:52):
You know, there were two men on the Jeff, could.
Speaker 5 (20:54):
Be any two men, Sam, I just well filed charges
against you and the sheriff, if that's all I got
to go on. Yeah, besides, Joe claims he was alone
when he fixed the car. Would help a lot if
we could prove that he wasn't. How about Wally out
at the cafe. He saw the garage jeep, maybe he
saw who was in it. It's almost eleven, but he
stays open late for the truckers. And see if we
(21:15):
can get him on the phone. Shaff Okay, Joe for
Walton speaking, get me Wally's cafe out on route twenty seven. Yeah,
want to talk to him yourself, Jase, Yeah, if you
don't mind. No, no, no, she's ringing the number now here.
Hold on to the answers. He'll be there. Okay, O,
Wally is a cafe now, Wally, this is Ranger Pearson.
(21:39):
I was in your place this morning with a sheriff.
Speaker 6 (21:41):
Oh yeah, Ranger.
Speaker 5 (21:43):
You said something about the jeep from Joe's garage passing
your place yesterday.
Speaker 6 (21:48):
That's right, yesterday afternoon.
Speaker 5 (21:51):
You see who was in it?
Speaker 6 (21:52):
Well, I guess Joe was in it.
Speaker 5 (21:54):
Did you actually see him or was he alone or
with somebody? Well, I to tell you that through the ranger,
all I saw was a jeep going by.
Speaker 6 (22:03):
Do you know how everything are? The curtains down the
side and well, ther rain was streaming down my windows too.
I saw the jeep go by, but I reckon I
couldn't even swear I saw Joe in it.
Speaker 5 (22:14):
Well, thanks, anyhow, I'm sorry.
Speaker 6 (22:16):
I wish I could help you.
Speaker 5 (22:17):
You can just forget I called no good. Eh, oh good, sheriff,
So far as he knows, the jeep was driving itself.
Maybe that story about the hitchhicking soldiers was on the level.
Couldn't be on the level, Sheriff, because they wouldn't walk
away from a murder scene once mcshane's car was running.
They had driven it a few miles at least. It
seems to me we could hold Joe on that. We could,
(22:38):
just long enough for some smart lawyer to get a rip.
All he'd have to say is that the soldiers might
have gotten another lift or cut cross country to the railroad. Yeah,
we could only find the money serial numbers for proof.
Even the watch is no good, Missus McShane couldn't make
a positive identification, and we had no way of tracing
where or when McShane bought it. Money's probably hid, no way,
(23:00):
they'll wait a mighty long time before they try to
spend any of it, and then we'll wait with him.
I hate knowing a man's a murderer and not being
able to prove it. Come on, Sam, let's get over
to the hotel and turn in for the night. All right,
I'll walk out with him. It's Sam. Yeah, you know
you got a grease stain on your pants? Oh what right?
Speaker 8 (23:21):
Buy your pocket there?
Speaker 4 (23:22):
Oh yeah, yeah, I got some grace on him this
morning lifting the hood of mcshane's car.
Speaker 8 (23:28):
Jack.
Speaker 7 (23:28):
A bullet was off a little had to feel around
or release it.
Speaker 5 (23:31):
Hey, what's the matter, Jase? Joe had to lift that
hood too to spray those wires him or Rusty greasee
film under there, or to hold fingerprints perfectly, Joe admitted
he touched the car. That don't help us, no, but
it'll help us if Rusty touched it too, because Rusty
claims he wasn't there.
Speaker 7 (23:48):
Sam, did you look under the hood for Prince No, Jase,
I never thought.
Speaker 5 (23:52):
That that's the last place a man would think of.
But we've thought of it. Now. Come on, let's check it. Yeah,
good thing you moved it out of Joe's place. If
we find what we're looking for, Joe's out of business.
Get anything, Sam, Yeah.
Speaker 4 (24:13):
Photos of the princes that lifted the beginning to show
some of them smeared, few of them clear, all right,
we can take.
Speaker 5 (24:21):
Them out of the bath man and here's the Austin.
Think on Rusty. See if you can match him under there?
Just one print, one finger, Sam, and we're home. Want
the light on now.
Speaker 8 (24:31):
Go please?
Speaker 4 (24:34):
No, not this one too much radio loop? No, not
this one?
Speaker 5 (24:42):
What find something?
Speaker 8 (24:44):
Give me that magnifying glass. Would you be here?
Speaker 5 (24:48):
Now? What do you see? Sam?
Speaker 4 (24:50):
All right here, jays look the skyline, small cutsy, a
holy Austin print right up next to Rusty's right forefinger.
Speaker 5 (24:58):
That's it, Sam, Watch that kind. Don't let anybody near it.
Let's go, sheriff. We got a couple of arrests to make.
Neither Joe nor Rusty were at home, and Joe's car
was missing from his house garage. We combed the town,
but there was no sign of him. We started to
(25:19):
hit the roadhouses along the outlying districts. Don't suppose I
ran to Jeesh Now a couple of suitcases and the
rafters of Joe's house garage. If he'd left, he'd had packed.
He thought you swallowed that story about the hitchhiking. Soldiers
had to make him feel safe. Where else would they
be liable to stop? Well, I don't know. Just one
more place out this way. Then there's nothing for four
miles until a Walla's place. I forgot to give Joe
(25:43):
that message about Wally wanting the fan bill. Weally didn't
mention it when I called him from your office. Might
have called Joe in the phone direct to remind him.
Joe hangs out at Walla's Place sometimes nights, I mean
drums up repair work with independent truckers who stopped there.
Let's try it. We hit the jackpot. Joe's car was
(26:08):
at Wally's place. Inside one of the waitresses told us
the three men were in the back shed putting a
new fan belt on Wally's pickup. We slipped along behind
the line of wash and waited from the finish and
come out. Or we waited. Wally said something we couldn't
hear as he bent down to the motor. Suddenly Rusty
jumped him.
Speaker 6 (26:26):
Wait when to Rangeer caught it a little poor midnight wine.
Speaker 7 (26:30):
Watch wait till now to tell us I just.
Speaker 6 (26:32):
Happened to mention it.
Speaker 5 (26:34):
Ranger didn't want me to tell you, Tall.
Speaker 8 (26:35):
What do you want to know?
Speaker 6 (26:37):
Just if I've seen a jeep pastor in the rain
yesterday afternoon, and then who was in it for?
Speaker 8 (26:41):
Watch? You tell him? What could it?
Speaker 6 (26:43):
Tell him? I just about saw the jeep. It was born.
Speaker 5 (26:45):
So hey, you.
Speaker 8 (26:47):
Guys us some kind of trouble.
Speaker 5 (26:48):
No, no, no, coach do so we better get back
to time.
Speaker 4 (26:51):
Rush.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
Hey, wait a minute, ain't pray for his fan belt.
Speaker 5 (26:54):
That's right, fellas fixed the man's fan belt. Ranger including
me in the party. Two us go ahead, Joe, finish
your work. Rusty can help you. It won't do any
harm if he leaves a fingerprint under the motor hood.
Either not under Wally's motorhood, because Wally is still alive.
Out of my way, Joe, pull it, But I don't
(27:17):
tell me.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
I haven't got a cook.
Speaker 5 (27:19):
Holy Micael, what's going on here?
Speaker 6 (27:20):
What did you keep your hands up?
Speaker 5 (27:23):
Joe, take a look at Rusty, Sheriff. Don't take much
looking right through the head.
Speaker 6 (27:28):
He did.
Speaker 11 (27:28):
It was Rusty.
Speaker 8 (27:29):
He forced me into it.
Speaker 5 (27:30):
Sure, Joe, the dead man's always to blame. You can
tell us all about it down.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
At the Jeez.
Speaker 6 (27:35):
You're gonna leave Rusty here.
Speaker 5 (27:37):
Fix your fan belt and bring him into town.
Speaker 6 (27:39):
If you like.
Speaker 5 (27:40):
Come on, Joe, get moving. I want to hear more
about those hitchhiking soldiers and I'll tell you about my dream,
a liar who goes to Huntsville.
Speaker 8 (28:02):
With Rusty Holman dead.
Speaker 4 (28:04):
Joe Foladair made a full confession of his part in
the murder of Atha McShane on May third, nineteen fifty one.
He was sentenced to Huntsville Penitentiary for fifty years.
Speaker 11 (28:19):
Next week, Joel McCrae and another authentic reenactment of a
case from the files of the Texas Rangers.
Speaker 5 (28:41):
Joel McCrae is currently seen starring in the.
Speaker 3 (28:43):
Universal International Technicolor production Cattle Drive. The cast included Tony Barrett,
Herb Bigrant, Lou Krookman, Bill Conrad ken Christi, and Lillian Bayer.
Technical advisor was Captain M. T. Lonewolf Gonzales of the
Texas Rangers. This story was transcribed and adapted by Joel
Murcott and the program is produced and directed by Stacy
(29:05):
Keach Hell Kidney speaking.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
It's the Silver Jubilee on NBC. Next It's The Big
Show with Joan Davis, Herb, Jeffries, George Sanders, Evelyn Knight,
Graucho Marx and your charming hostess Tallula Bankhead. Then enjoy
thirty minutes of mirth and music with Phil Harris and
Alice Fay. Later, Theodore Guild on the Air presents a
Foreign Affair co starring Marlena Dietrich and Richard Widmark. And
(29:32):
for pictures of your favorite NBC stars via the current
NBC Silver Jubilee issue of.
Speaker 7 (29:38):
Radio TV Mirror magazine.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
Next, It's the Big Show, All This and Tallula Too,
on NBC
In a moment, we'll present the Texas Rangers. But first,
here's a reminder that you can read all about your
favorite NBC stars and find pictures of most of them
in the current NBC Silver Jubilee issue of Radio TV
Mirror magazine Fire at your news stand today.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
The National Broadcasting Company presents.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Joel McCrae in Tales of the Texas Rangers from Hollywood,
another authentic reenactment of a case transcribed from.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
The files of the Texas Rangers.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Tales of the Texas Rangers, starring Joel McCrae as Ranger
Chase Pearson, Texas more than two hundred and sixty.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Thousand square miles and fifty men who make up.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
The most famous and oldest law enforcement body in North America.
Now from the files of the Texas Rangers come.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
These stories based on fact only.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Names, dates, and places are fictitious for obvious reasons. They
events themselves are a matter of records.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Case Fortnite Helping Hand.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
It is three point fifteen PM an afternoon in November
nineteen fifty A del usual rain has swamped the deserted
roads of West Texas, and a lone motors sits disconsolately
in a small sedan near the side of the road.
His face brightened suddenly as a curtained jeep fulls to
a stop beside him. Painted on the jeep's motor hood
or the words Joe's.
Speaker 5 (01:55):
Garage hurry, hurry, having trouble.
Speaker 6 (01:59):
Yeah, wires must have got soap coming through that low
spot in the wash back there. She chugged and sputtered
aways and then conked down on me.
Speaker 7 (02:08):
And we can fix that for you.
Speaker 5 (02:10):
I got that kerosine, squirt ted Rusty. Okay, Joe, you
want the canvas too, yeah, raises hood, then tent the
canvas over so none of this rain beats in there. Yeah,
you just sit there and the lights. Mister, we'll have
a pricking in a minute.
Speaker 6 (02:23):
M sure, grateful to you. What are you gonna do?
Speaker 5 (02:25):
Squirt a little kerosene on ignition? Wise, better release your hood?
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Oh yeah, okay, Rusty, lift her up?
Speaker 8 (02:32):
Yeah, had it all right?
Speaker 6 (02:34):
Sure you feel you know what you're doing?
Speaker 8 (02:38):
What do you mean?
Speaker 6 (02:39):
I can't see how you can get them wires dry
by squirting them winter, that's.
Speaker 5 (02:42):
A mechanic's trick, squirting with kerosene. The kerosene gets under
the water, and the water runs off, and a minute
or two the kerosene runs off too. What's left evaporates.
Speaker 6 (02:51):
And I reckon, you know, I know, all right?
Speaker 7 (02:54):
What raised like this?
Speaker 5 (02:55):
I do more business along this road, and I do
back of the shop. Reckon. We've got a dozen stalks
cars going today. Okay, close her up, Okay to drying
out all the Wait a second.
Speaker 8 (03:10):
They got a couple of drops of water running.
Speaker 5 (03:11):
Down my neck. Only a mile up the road to
Walla's cafe. We'll stop for coffee after this fellow gets moving.
Speaker 6 (03:16):
M sure could use them myself. I've been sitting here
for more than an hour. Only other car had come through.
Barrel right, bed ware, you bound for it long redge
too bad? Is heaped? And hold out until I got there.
Coming back, I'll lend me a new car. D were
called this morning? Tell me was in.
Speaker 5 (03:33):
Well, this ain't gonna be ready to limp along now, Joe, Yeah,
you can try starting now.
Speaker 6 (03:38):
Oh fine. Uh he's hoping. That was real quick, and
I'll be hanged and tricky yours really worse.
Speaker 5 (03:48):
I ain't never missed. I shall buck a little at first,
but watch the puddles.
Speaker 6 (03:51):
You'll be okay, sure, wish I knew how to thank you, bunny?
Speaker 7 (03:55):
Why is that age hard?
Speaker 8 (03:56):
Mister?
Speaker 7 (03:57):
Charge is fifteen bucks?
Speaker 6 (04:00):
Fifteen dollars?
Speaker 8 (04:01):
Hand it up in this rain?
Speaker 5 (04:02):
Ain't funness? Say you were stuck, won't you?
Speaker 6 (04:05):
Yeah, it was stuck. Fifteen dollars seems like the kind
of steep price for three minutes working a little cares.
Speaker 5 (04:12):
Look, I got a nice, warm garage with a price
as of regular working out here is a little bit different.
Speaker 8 (04:18):
Charge is fifteen bucks.
Speaker 6 (04:20):
I don't think I got fifteen bucks.
Speaker 8 (04:22):
What are you a wise guy? I reckon if you
can find a new car. You ain't exactly flat brope.
Speaker 6 (04:26):
I didn't say it was. I got money, the smallest bill.
I got some hundred.
Speaker 8 (04:30):
Oh, don storm me. You can ride out here.
Speaker 5 (04:33):
If we didn't happen along, at least you can do
his pay up.
Speaker 6 (04:36):
I tell you I got nothing but large bills. Money
I got from a bank this morning to put down
on a new car. I want your money on meet
you at the coffee place you was talking about, and
get changed?
Speaker 7 (04:45):
Well, what wally get changed?
Speaker 8 (04:47):
One hundred?
Speaker 7 (04:47):
And that crumbit joint?
Speaker 8 (04:48):
Change? Ain't our problem, Joe.
Speaker 7 (04:50):
My problem is whether or not this guy's really got
a hundred bucks to begin with.
Speaker 8 (04:53):
Now, let's see it.
Speaker 6 (04:54):
You ain't seeing nothing, matter of fact, ain't so sure
you got a right to charge me? No, fifteen before
I pay it, I'm gonna stop at the Sheriff's off
was a long range.
Speaker 5 (05:04):
You think I'm standing in this rain for fun?
Speaker 8 (05:06):
I get out there. Call me hurry out on my throat.
Never mind the conversation.
Speaker 5 (05:12):
Joe, you got hands and he's got yeah. Stop it, hey, Rusty, Hey, Rusty,
Look yeah, five hundred bucks, Joe, I could do a
lot with though I can.
Speaker 8 (05:32):
What he say?
Speaker 6 (05:33):
Joe, why here?
Speaker 8 (05:33):
Reported not if you've got enough nerves?
Speaker 7 (05:36):
I got as much nerves.
Speaker 5 (05:36):
You got right down and grab his feet, move him
a narrow off the road.
Speaker 7 (05:41):
Hey, he's coming to not for long, all right?
Speaker 8 (05:44):
Put him down. Now get your heavy wrench.
Speaker 7 (05:49):
No, you're crazy.
Speaker 8 (05:50):
You back out on me.
Speaker 5 (05:51):
No, but I hung my chumping off to hug my
wrench on him.
Speaker 8 (05:55):
Be smart, Rusty, they were.
Speaker 5 (05:57):
Going to do this.
Speaker 7 (05:58):
Let's be smart and dude. Right, there's a big rock
over us.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
That the body of the slain man was found early
the following morning, when highway patrolmen examined the area around
the seemingly abandoned car. The sheriff was summoned from Longridge,
and he in turn requested the help of a Texas Ranger.
Speaker 7 (06:24):
Ranger Jace Pearson was assignment.
Speaker 5 (06:27):
You might have went from that rain yesterday. J Yeah, yeah,
here's the body. I wanted you to see it before
and moved it into town. He check his identification. Licensed
description fits names. Arthur McShane comes from Hooper Spring. Were
you looking at Jess and just noticing these footprints around
the body? Sheriff? I puddled up too much to help.
Rain washed the edges away. Carried in here by two
(06:49):
men or walked in with one man. No, he was carried,
he'd walk there'd be some mud on his shoes. His
feet never touched the ground after he left the pavement.
How long you think he's been dead. It looks like
it's been quite a few hours. Any sign of a
weapon around there must have been one with his head
like that big rock with a blood trays on the
bottom of it was laying over there, almost wished clean.
(07:10):
So I didn't want to leave it, and I had
a deputy wrap it and take it in for your lamp.
I won't help much might have held some blood, but
the Prince wouldn't take Let's get back the car right.
Anybody touched the car, No, that's just like a highway
patrol boys found it, driver's door, open, seat and steering
wheels soaked with rain. They got out to fix something. Well,
(07:32):
if he did, he must have got it fixed before
he was killed, because the car works all right now.
Speaker 8 (07:36):
I checked it.
Speaker 5 (07:38):
I want to take a look on the knees. You
see something, Jason, Yeah, all these spots on the pavement
didn't film on a couple of small puddles drip from
the oiler crank cage maybe, Oh it's too thin for that,
too light. It's more like a gasoline drif gas lean drip.
It be further back under the curbret A lapman can
check it. And one want to fly down and go
(07:59):
over the car. Anyhow, where's the nearest phone? Wallly's Cafe
about a mile up the road. Wallly's Cafe was a
dilapidated roadside stop. I called Austin for a lab crew
to fly down the long ridge, and the sheriff called
(08:20):
the medical examiner, who authorized to pick up for Arthur
mcshane's body. The sheriff hadn't had any breakfast. How about
some Hemmy and Wally?
Speaker 7 (08:28):
Hey, sentle for bacon for sure?
Speaker 5 (08:30):
How about you Gie's just some coffee?
Speaker 6 (08:32):
Right, lab man will want to bring that.
Speaker 5 (08:36):
Car into a garage, Sheriff. Where do you have your
car service?
Speaker 6 (08:39):
Jewel's garage?
Speaker 5 (08:40):
What little work we have?
Speaker 4 (08:41):
Hey?
Speaker 2 (08:41):
Yeah, you follas watched coffee?
Speaker 7 (08:43):
Now are you out your egg?
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Sheriff?
Speaker 6 (08:45):
We're gonna take it now. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (08:47):
I don't think they're gonna find much on the car,
though anything on the outside would have been washed away
by the rain. Yeah, this is gonna be a tough net.
Speaker 6 (08:54):
Well, here's you say. I here, you say something about
Joe's garage for you?
Speaker 5 (09:00):
Yeah, you gonna see him in town. I expect you
asked him to do.
Speaker 6 (09:04):
Me a favor, will you Next time he stopped firing
need new fan from a pickup, I'll tell him that's
why I ain't got no ham. I couldn't make a
trip in the time for supplies today, and I have
to buy you a bicycle, walleing.
Speaker 5 (09:17):
You better than that pick up, that's for sure. Why
don sho you make a flat deal with Joe Damn
by the week and have him. Make one stop here
every day, be cheaper than that, And I'm.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Surprised he didn't stop by yesterday.
Speaker 6 (09:29):
Charge deep go bow and buy late in the afternoon,
headed for town. Oh that darn Raine, You know, I
bet I didn't show three blue plates across his kinnter
all day?
Speaker 5 (09:39):
Yes?
Speaker 6 (09:40):
Did? He didn't take in more than four dollars. Well
that's more.
Speaker 5 (09:44):
Than you're a liable to take in the day if
you burn my age.
Speaker 6 (09:47):
Oh yeah, excuse me.
Speaker 5 (09:58):
A lab man checked in on the fleen from off
then went out after mcshane's car. I waited in the
Sheriff's office in town until the sheriff came in with
a report from the medical examiner. Here's your topsic report. Jez.
Cause of death cerebral hemorrhage due to a severe beating
about the head. But on the rock we found match
McShane anything on the time of death about three thirty
(10:19):
yesterday afternoon. Three right.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (10:23):
Mcshane's wife just got in town, went over to the
funeral home. You want to see him? Yeah, the another
hour or so before the labman gets to Joe's garage.
Taking that long to check those oil spots and a
few other things out of the road, funeral homes just
up the street.
Speaker 8 (10:38):
Let's go.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
He was so happy, not just.
Speaker 9 (10:53):
Who could do with him?
Speaker 8 (10:55):
Take it easy, man?
Speaker 5 (10:59):
How come you didn't drive up here with him? I
mean you said he was coming up to get a
new car. I should think he didn't want to do along.
Speaker 9 (11:05):
Well, I didn't know about the car when he left.
Speaker 10 (11:08):
See it was for anniversary next week. A surprise, I
didn't left.
Speaker 8 (11:14):
He left yesterday.
Speaker 5 (11:15):
How'd you find out then?
Speaker 9 (11:16):
From Abby Lawton? She's the banker's right back home in
Hooper Spring.
Speaker 10 (11:21):
When my husband took the money out of the bank yesterday,
he told Bill lot and why he was taking it. Well,
Bill must have called Abby to tell her, and Abby
called me. Abby's always doing things like that. Nobody ever
gets surprised when she knows about anything.
Speaker 5 (11:34):
And some people are like that. Ma'am. You know how
much money your husband was carrying?
Speaker 9 (11:40):
She said he drew up five hundred dollars.
Speaker 5 (11:42):
Alli a hundred dollar bill as your motive, chef, sure
is Jason robbery. A hundred dollar bill shouldn't be too
hard to traceh I'll depend on where and how soon
the killer tries to spend them. Better call a bank
at Hooper Springs and see if you can get a
list of serial numbers. Do it fronto. They have any numbers,
put them on a state wide bulletin. Right, your your
(12:05):
husband have anything besides money on him, ma'am, Any jewelry
or anything else that it might have been taken with.
Speaker 9 (12:11):
No, but he had a wrist watch, it's all.
Speaker 5 (12:14):
There wasn't any money was found. You know what make
it was?
Speaker 9 (12:18):
No, I just know he had one. That's only what.
All the time, I never gave it no suspicion, noting.
Speaker 5 (12:22):
How could you describe it?
Speaker 9 (12:24):
Well, I he was gold, leather, stry up. I don't
know men's watch.
Speaker 8 (12:31):
It all look the same to me.
Speaker 5 (12:32):
What would you know if you saw it again?
Speaker 9 (12:35):
Well, no, I don't think so.
Speaker 6 (12:37):
Oh, I don't know.
Speaker 5 (12:40):
You ought to have somebody with you, if you've got
a son or a daughter or someplace, we could contact
him for you.
Speaker 9 (12:46):
No, we didn't have no children. It was just just
him and me. You know, I'm all along.
Speaker 5 (13:00):
Jerriff got a list of currency numbers from the bank,
and we arranged for a bullet into all banks and
major stores in the state. We're leaving the telegraph office
when we sighted the labman coming down the main dragon
mcshane's car. We hailed him and he pulled over to
the curb. Haughty Jase, houghtie Sam had a cherfam right
into garage with you if it won't disturb anything.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
No, Hoppy been all over upholstering everything.
Speaker 7 (13:24):
Lots of prints on the dashboard, all the same.
Speaker 5 (13:27):
Probably dead man's No sign of anybody else being in
the car with.
Speaker 4 (13:30):
Him, none I could find, cause he might have had riders.
Speaker 5 (13:34):
Banker at Hooper Spring said McShane was alone when he
left the bank, saw him through the window when he
got in his car, and he wasn't alone when he
got killed. That's a cinch. How about those oily spots
on the road, Sam.
Speaker 4 (13:45):
And the ones under the car there kerosene spots Chase
Karsane was used to cut the grace on the ignition wires,
easy to tell even with a field kit.
Speaker 5 (13:53):
That means the ignition wires must have gotten wet. Car
conked out on him and he sprayed him.
Speaker 4 (13:58):
That's what happened, right, But he didn't the sprain himself.
Why no sign of caro Seene in.
Speaker 8 (14:03):
The car anyplace? No can nothing.
Speaker 5 (14:05):
You checked the trunk empty.
Speaker 7 (14:07):
No chaff?
Speaker 8 (14:07):
Way is that grush?
Speaker 5 (14:09):
Joe? Three more blocks, then turn left right.
Speaker 4 (14:12):
I'll make one more check of the interior for blood trays.
But I took a preliminary and it was black. I'm
afraid I'm not gonna find anything. Say, you really don't
have to come along unless you want to. I can
drop you the Sheriff's office.
Speaker 5 (14:24):
No, we'll ride. I want to see that garage man anyhow. Yeah, sure, why,
but Wally won't get his fan belt. I'm want to
see him about more than Walley's fan built. Right, Walley's
had the jeep from Joe's garage past his place yesterday
afternoon on the way to town. Hey, that's right. He
must have passed the spot machine was killed at no
place between there and wall is that he could have
(14:45):
been coming from. And somebody stopped to help McShane get
his car started. Let's find out who.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
In just a moment, we will continue with Tales of
the Texas Rangers, starring Joel McCrae as Ranger Jase Pearson.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Now that fall is here and darkness comes upon us
during the early afternoon hours, you as a driver must
be ever alert for children in the streets and highways.
Slow down at sundown. Follow the careful and courteous driving
rules as set forth by the American Trucking Association. Remember
that a rolling ball is always followed by a child.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
Keep alert.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Drive as if a child's life depended upon your ability
to see him before he sees you, and it does.
Remember the life you save may be a child's.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
We continue now with tales of the Texas Rangers and
tonight's case helping hand an authentic story from the files
of the Texas Rangers.
Speaker 5 (15:58):
There were two men in the garage as we drove in.
One of them was wearing a mechanics cover all. The
other was seated in a chair tilted back against the wall,
trying to toss greasy playing cards into a hat placed
ten feet away from him. The mechanic gave the car
a strange look. I'm sure there's something I can do
for you, Yeah, Joe fellow in the rain, Jill they
have wants a little space to go over this car?
Speaker 7 (16:20):
Well, sure, pull it right over to that corner.
Speaker 8 (16:23):
Oh, I thanks.
Speaker 5 (16:25):
You ever see that car before, Joe?
Speaker 7 (16:28):
I care, sir, ranger working a lot of.
Speaker 5 (16:31):
Cars yesterday afternoon during the rain. This car was about
a mile past Wally's place out on State twenty seven.
It was stalled with wet ignition wires. Somebody fixed them
with a kerosene spray. Your jeep was seen out that way.
Speaker 7 (16:45):
Uh yeah, yeah, I guess maybe it is a car
I fixed.
Speaker 8 (16:49):
I guess you're gonna be busy, Joe.
Speaker 6 (16:51):
I'll call you later.
Speaker 7 (16:52):
Oh sure, sure, Rusty, go ahead, just a second.
Speaker 5 (16:56):
How about this car, Joe?
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Well, like I said, maybe I did work. It got
a few cars started on the highway yesterday.
Speaker 5 (17:03):
You keep saying maybe how about making it yes or no?
A mile east of Wallis Well, yeah, yeah, I saw
a car there. Yeah, just like that one, ignition wise soaked?
You get him started?
Speaker 8 (17:15):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (17:16):
Driver all right? When you left him?
Speaker 8 (17:18):
Yeah sure, they was all okay.
Speaker 5 (17:20):
Why what do you mean by all? Wasn't the driver alone? No?
Speaker 7 (17:23):
No, no, he had a couple of guys with him, hitchhikers.
Speaker 5 (17:26):
How do you know they were hitchhikers? What driver said?
So guys were in the army uniform. They were sort
of broaded off about being stuck. How to get back
to base or something? Army guys? Eh?
Speaker 8 (17:36):
Yeah? Why or something happened to that driver.
Speaker 5 (17:38):
Yeah, something unpleasant. I better put out a pickup for
a couple of soldiers. Ain't cheff wrecking your better.
Speaker 7 (17:44):
Jays, you would still want me to wait, ranger.
Speaker 5 (17:47):
Oh, I almost forgot about you. No, I just thought
maybe you were with Joe yesterday when he fixed that car.
Speaker 8 (17:53):
No, no, I wasn't. I don't work here. No, no,
he just stopped buying.
Speaker 5 (17:56):
Oh I see, well, thanks, you're welcome. So oh uh.
By the way, yeah, what time you got.
Speaker 8 (18:07):
Just timmis have to walk.
Speaker 5 (18:09):
Thanks. He got a good looking watch there, keep pretty
good time.
Speaker 8 (18:14):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, it's right on the dot.
Speaker 5 (18:16):
Must have had it for a long time. Huh yeah,
I can see that you ought to have the strap
change though it's getting too small for you.
Speaker 8 (18:25):
Huh.
Speaker 5 (18:26):
Mark on the leather band shows where you used to
hook it through the fourth hole. You're wearing it hooked
through the second hole now so long? Oh yeah, yeah,
I'll be seeing you. See you later, Joe, Yeah, Rusty later.
(18:48):
I'd noticed the watch strap right away. That's why I
kept talking to Joe after I stopped Rusty from leaving.
The waiting made him nervous, and he tried to keep
the watch hidden. Joe gave us a fumbling description of
two soldiers, which I pretended to phone to Austin. While
I was phoning, I managed to signal the sheriff to
pick up the greasy cards Rusty'd been tossing into the hat.
We left the garage and took the lab man with us.
Speaker 7 (19:10):
Thanks, Joe, see you later. Sure, Thank bye.
Speaker 5 (19:13):
Rangel's along, Joe, we'll see you again.
Speaker 7 (19:18):
Say Jase, what'd you pull me out for?
Speaker 5 (19:19):
I wasn't finding I know, I got something else for
you to check on. Oh what some playing cards the
sheriff has? Yeah, yeah, I caught your signal, Jase. But
what'd you want these for? Step around the side of
the building here. Those cards are pretty greasy, Sam, I
think you can pull prints off of.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
Them grease film on a glaze service sedge.
Speaker 5 (19:42):
But what I've seen one of those garage boys before, Joel.
Now the other one, Rusty. Something in my mind tells
me I saw him in the pen at Huntsville. I
want to check on his prints. All had to get
right on it. Joe's princes probably be on those cards too.
Get a report on anything you find, But first that
car out of take it over to the Sheriff's parking shed.
If you can lift any prints in the nah, you
(20:03):
can get him on the afternoon. Playing to Austin, what
was that business about asking Rusty the time?
Speaker 8 (20:09):
Jash?
Speaker 5 (20:09):
It wasn't his watch, that's all. Man who owned that
watch always wore two notches tighter. Comparing their sizes, I
figured that Arthur mcshane's wrist would be just about two
notches thinner than Rusties. The labman lifted plenty of prints
from the playing cards, with two sets repeated most frequently.
(20:31):
We sent the bats through to Austin for a check.
The answer came back late that night. Mug shots and
records on two men. Looks like you hit the jack quad, Jash. Yeah,
Joe and Rusty both got records, both served time in Huntsville,
same cell block, and we pick them up we can.
It won't be any use. We haven't even got enough
on him to get him and dieted.
Speaker 8 (20:52):
You know, there were two men on the Jeff, could.
Speaker 5 (20:54):
Be any two men, Sam, I just well filed charges
against you and the sheriff, if that's all I got
to go on. Yeah, besides, Joe claims he was alone
when he fixed the car. Would help a lot if
we could prove that he wasn't. How about Wally out
at the cafe. He saw the garage jeep, maybe he
saw who was in it. It's almost eleven, but he
stays open late for the truckers. And see if we
(21:15):
can get him on the phone. Shaff Okay, Joe for
Walton speaking, get me Wally's cafe out on route twenty seven. Yeah,
want to talk to him yourself, Jase, Yeah, if you
don't mind. No, no, no, she's ringing the number now here.
Hold on to the answers. He'll be there. Okay, O,
Wally is a cafe now, Wally, this is Ranger Pearson.
(21:39):
I was in your place this morning with a sheriff.
Speaker 6 (21:41):
Oh yeah, Ranger.
Speaker 5 (21:43):
You said something about the jeep from Joe's garage passing
your place yesterday.
Speaker 6 (21:48):
That's right, yesterday afternoon.
Speaker 5 (21:51):
You see who was in it?
Speaker 6 (21:52):
Well, I guess Joe was in it.
Speaker 5 (21:54):
Did you actually see him or was he alone or
with somebody? Well, I to tell you that through the ranger,
all I saw was a jeep going by.
Speaker 6 (22:03):
Do you know how everything are? The curtains down the
side and well, ther rain was streaming down my windows too.
I saw the jeep go by, but I reckon I
couldn't even swear I saw Joe in it.
Speaker 5 (22:14):
Well, thanks, anyhow, I'm sorry.
Speaker 6 (22:16):
I wish I could help you.
Speaker 5 (22:17):
You can just forget I called no good. Eh, oh good, sheriff,
So far as he knows, the jeep was driving itself.
Maybe that story about the hitchhicking soldiers was on the level.
Couldn't be on the level, Sheriff, because they wouldn't walk
away from a murder scene once mcshane's car was running.
They had driven it a few miles at least. It
seems to me we could hold Joe on that. We could,
(22:38):
just long enough for some smart lawyer to get a rip.
All he'd have to say is that the soldiers might
have gotten another lift or cut cross country to the railroad. Yeah,
we could only find the money serial numbers for proof.
Even the watch is no good, Missus McShane couldn't make
a positive identification, and we had no way of tracing
where or when McShane bought it. Money's probably hid, no way,
(23:00):
they'll wait a mighty long time before they try to
spend any of it, and then we'll wait with him.
I hate knowing a man's a murderer and not being
able to prove it. Come on, Sam, let's get over
to the hotel and turn in for the night. All right,
I'll walk out with him. It's Sam. Yeah, you know
you got a grease stain on your pants? Oh what right?
Speaker 8 (23:21):
Buy your pocket there?
Speaker 4 (23:22):
Oh yeah, yeah, I got some grace on him this
morning lifting the hood of mcshane's car.
Speaker 8 (23:28):
Jack.
Speaker 7 (23:28):
A bullet was off a little had to feel around
or release it.
Speaker 5 (23:31):
Hey, what's the matter, Jase? Joe had to lift that
hood too to spray those wires him or Rusty greasee
film under there, or to hold fingerprints perfectly, Joe admitted
he touched the car. That don't help us, no, but
it'll help us if Rusty touched it too, because Rusty
claims he wasn't there.
Speaker 7 (23:48):
Sam, did you look under the hood for Prince No, Jase,
I never thought.
Speaker 5 (23:52):
That that's the last place a man would think of.
But we've thought of it. Now. Come on, let's check it. Yeah,
good thing you moved it out of Joe's place. If
we find what we're looking for, Joe's out of business.
Get anything, Sam, Yeah.
Speaker 4 (24:13):
Photos of the princes that lifted the beginning to show
some of them smeared, few of them clear, all right,
we can take.
Speaker 5 (24:21):
Them out of the bath man and here's the Austin.
Think on Rusty. See if you can match him under there?
Just one print, one finger, Sam, and we're home. Want
the light on now.
Speaker 8 (24:31):
Go please?
Speaker 4 (24:34):
No, not this one too much radio loop? No, not
this one?
Speaker 5 (24:42):
What find something?
Speaker 8 (24:44):
Give me that magnifying glass. Would you be here?
Speaker 5 (24:48):
Now? What do you see? Sam?
Speaker 4 (24:50):
All right here, jays look the skyline, small cutsy, a
holy Austin print right up next to Rusty's right forefinger.
Speaker 5 (24:58):
That's it, Sam, Watch that kind. Don't let anybody near it.
Let's go, sheriff. We got a couple of arrests to make.
Neither Joe nor Rusty were at home, and Joe's car
was missing from his house garage. We combed the town,
but there was no sign of him. We started to
(25:19):
hit the roadhouses along the outlying districts. Don't suppose I
ran to Jeesh Now a couple of suitcases and the
rafters of Joe's house garage. If he'd left, he'd had packed.
He thought you swallowed that story about the hitchhiking. Soldiers
had to make him feel safe. Where else would they
be liable to stop? Well, I don't know. Just one
more place out this way. Then there's nothing for four
miles until a Walla's place. I forgot to give Joe
(25:43):
that message about Wally wanting the fan bill. Weally didn't
mention it when I called him from your office. Might
have called Joe in the phone direct to remind him.
Joe hangs out at Walla's Place sometimes nights, I mean
drums up repair work with independent truckers who stopped there.
Let's try it. We hit the jackpot. Joe's car was
(26:08):
at Wally's place. Inside one of the waitresses told us
the three men were in the back shed putting a
new fan belt on Wally's pickup. We slipped along behind
the line of wash and waited from the finish and
come out. Or we waited. Wally said something we couldn't
hear as he bent down to the motor. Suddenly Rusty
jumped him.
Speaker 6 (26:26):
Wait when to Rangeer caught it a little poor midnight wine.
Speaker 7 (26:30):
Watch wait till now to tell us I just.
Speaker 6 (26:32):
Happened to mention it.
Speaker 5 (26:34):
Ranger didn't want me to tell you, Tall.
Speaker 8 (26:35):
What do you want to know?
Speaker 6 (26:37):
Just if I've seen a jeep pastor in the rain
yesterday afternoon, and then who was in it for?
Speaker 8 (26:41):
Watch? You tell him? What could it?
Speaker 6 (26:43):
Tell him? I just about saw the jeep. It was born.
Speaker 5 (26:45):
So hey, you.
Speaker 8 (26:47):
Guys us some kind of trouble.
Speaker 5 (26:48):
No, no, no, coach do so we better get back
to time.
Speaker 4 (26:51):
Rush.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
Hey, wait a minute, ain't pray for his fan belt.
Speaker 5 (26:54):
That's right, fellas fixed the man's fan belt. Ranger including
me in the party. Two us go ahead, Joe, finish
your work. Rusty can help you. It won't do any
harm if he leaves a fingerprint under the motor hood.
Either not under Wally's motorhood, because Wally is still alive.
Out of my way, Joe, pull it, But I don't
(27:17):
tell me.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
I haven't got a cook.
Speaker 5 (27:19):
Holy Micael, what's going on here?
Speaker 6 (27:20):
What did you keep your hands up?
Speaker 5 (27:23):
Joe, take a look at Rusty, Sheriff. Don't take much
looking right through the head.
Speaker 6 (27:28):
He did.
Speaker 11 (27:28):
It was Rusty.
Speaker 8 (27:29):
He forced me into it.
Speaker 5 (27:30):
Sure, Joe, the dead man's always to blame. You can
tell us all about it down.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
At the Jeez.
Speaker 6 (27:35):
You're gonna leave Rusty here.
Speaker 5 (27:37):
Fix your fan belt and bring him into town.
Speaker 6 (27:39):
If you like.
Speaker 5 (27:40):
Come on, Joe, get moving. I want to hear more
about those hitchhiking soldiers and I'll tell you about my dream,
a liar who goes to Huntsville.
Speaker 8 (28:02):
With Rusty Holman dead.
Speaker 4 (28:04):
Joe Foladair made a full confession of his part in
the murder of Atha McShane on May third, nineteen fifty one.
He was sentenced to Huntsville Penitentiary for fifty years.
Speaker 11 (28:19):
Next week, Joel McCrae and another authentic reenactment of a
case from the files of the Texas Rangers.
Speaker 5 (28:41):
Joel McCrae is currently seen starring in the.
Speaker 3 (28:43):
Universal International Technicolor production Cattle Drive. The cast included Tony Barrett,
Herb Bigrant, Lou Krookman, Bill Conrad ken Christi, and Lillian Bayer.
Technical advisor was Captain M. T. Lonewolf Gonzales of the
Texas Rangers. This story was transcribed and adapted by Joel
Murcott and the program is produced and directed by Stacy
(29:05):
Keach Hell Kidney speaking.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
It's the Silver Jubilee on NBC. Next It's The Big
Show with Joan Davis, Herb, Jeffries, George Sanders, Evelyn Knight,
Graucho Marx and your charming hostess Tallula Bankhead. Then enjoy
thirty minutes of mirth and music with Phil Harris and
Alice Fay. Later, Theodore Guild on the Air presents a
Foreign Affair co starring Marlena Dietrich and Richard Widmark. And
(29:32):
for pictures of your favorite NBC stars via the current
NBC Silver Jubilee issue of.
Speaker 7 (29:38):
Radio TV Mirror magazine.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
Next, It's the Big Show, All This and Tallula Too,
on NBC
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